This road blue knit gamer by Maska was worn by Bill Hajt during the 1979-80 NHL season. Hajt spent all 14 of his NHL seasons as a member of the Buffalo Sabres which helped solidify him as a hometown favorite. Bill wasn’t an offensive minded defenseman, but was steady and reliable when it came to playing the position well. He was part of the memorable Stanley Cup Finals run in 1975, his 2nd pro season, and thrived under new boss Scotty Bowman playing a key role in the Sabres 1979-80 rebirth. All told Bill spent 854 regular season games and another 80 playoff games dressed in the Sabres blue and gold.

Sewn to the right breast of this beautiful Maska knit is the 1980 Olympic patch. The game use on this sweater is solid consisting of stick marks, board burns, board paint transfer, inner pilling and by our count 20 team-sewn repairs. This set of sweaters was worn by the Sabres for the majority of the 1979-80 NHL season. Under new boss Scotty Bowman for the first time, Buffalo won the Adams division with 110 points and allowed a mere 201 goals against, a league best total.

The Sabres stormed into the playoffs eventually falling at the hands of the New York Islanders dynasty in the Semi Finals, thus completing one of the most exciting seasons in team history. The 1980 Olympics are thought of by many hockey fans as the greatest moment in the history of the sport. Those Olympic Games took place in Lake Placid, New York. Buffalo was one of two NHL teams, the New York Islanders being the other, who donned the 1980 Olympic patch on their game jerseys. This jersey has been buried away for 30 years since leaving Hajt’s back and is now entering our hobby for the very first time!